Good morning, nice people. We are back this week with a packed issue, with news about the imminent signing of the Egypt-Cyprus gas liquefaction agreement leading the pack. We also have news on Saudi’s new port in Africa, as well as a flurry of supply chain agreements and earnings reports from all over the region. Shall we?

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The Dubai FreightCamp will kick off this Thursday and wrap up on Saturday 22 February in Dubai. The event focuses on connecting new partners and businesses in the freight forwarding industry. Global members from freight networks Pangea and Connecta are invited to partake in the conference.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- China makes headway on Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port: Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry has inked an agreement with the Chinese Transport Ministry's China State Construction Engineering Cooperation to study, design, and establish pre-implementation services to complete Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, Al Arabiya reports, citing a ministry statement. Around 50% of the first phase of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port has reportedly been completed, the news outlet added.

REFRESHER- Kuwait selected China State Construction Engineering Corporation to build, manage, and operate its Mubarak Al Kabeer Port project last month. The Kuwaiti Prime Minister’s Office approved KWD 186 mn (USD 614 mn) to support the development of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port at Bubiyan Island last May. The port — projected to cost some KWD 990 mn (USD 3.2 bn) — will accommodate 24 berths with a capacity of up to 8.1 mn containers a year.

#2- Egypt’s manufacturing leader and exporter Elsewedy Electric is eyeing an entrance into Brazil and India as part of its expansion plan, Chairman Ahmed Elsewedy told Al Arabiya. The company wants to establish specialized factories for wires, cables, electrical products, and smart infrastructure in both countries this year.

#3- More updates on the Iraq-Turkey pipeline: Iraq is tidying up loose ends with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to resume the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline following a two-year shutdown that cost Iraq nearly USD 19 bn in lost revenues, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Bloomberg on Friday. Iraq temporarily increased its oil production and transportation payout for oil production from USD 6 to USD 16 a barrel to incentivize oil firms until a third-party audit determines the cost of production and transport.

The final touches: While the legal issues are solved — including transferring oil to the federal marketing company SOMO — some technical issues remain. “The discussion now between the federal government and the KRG is about how many barrels, is it possible to export and how many barrels are going to be used for internal consumption,” Hussein added.

Almost there? We first heard of news about the resumption of operations earlier this month. The Kurdistan pipeline — which was shut down in February 2023 due to technical issues and financial disputes with Turkey — can transport nearly 500k bpd via the Ceyhan port to global markets.

#4- UAE’s Adnoc seals 14-year LNG supply agreement with Indian Oil: Adnoc Gas has inked a USD 7 to USD 9 bn 14-year LNG supply agreement with Indian Oil Corporation, India’s biggest energy firm, according to a statement released on Thursday. The deal will see Adnoc gas export up to 1.2 mn mtpa annually, with the first deliveries slated for 2026. The move looks to support India’s goal of making LNG account for “15% of its primary energy basket by 2030,” Adnoc Gas CEO Fatema Al Nuaimi said.

REMEMBER- Adnoc inked a heads of agreement with the Indian firm back in September for gas to be sourced mainly from Adnoc’s Ruwais LNG project in Abu Dhabi.

Adnoc may have more in the pipeline: Adnoc was reported last week to be close to signing a five-year LNG supply agreement to supply 2.5 mn metric tonnes of LNG to BPCL.

All eyes on the region: Indian state refiners are reportedly looking at our region’s crude oil market for supplies as they seek to replace the heavily sanctioned Russia as their top supplier. Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum were down some 8 to 10 mn barrels of Russian crude for loading in January.

#5- EU launching new gas buying round in March: The EU is hosting its next and final round of joint gas buying on 12 March via gas trading platform Prisma in a bid to secure buyers until 2030, Reuters reports, citing a statement. Firms can submit natural gas or LNG requests between July 2025 and October 2030.

REMEMBER: The EU’s current trading platform is slated to be replaced by a new platform encompassing hydrogen, natural gas, and critical minerals.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Crude prices remained largely unchanged, mainly buoyed by hopes of a possible Russia-Ukraine peace deal easing supply disruptions by possibly ending sanctions on Russian oil, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures went up by USD 0.07 to USD 74.81 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) sustained its price of USD 70.75 a barrel by 04.30 GMT.

#2- Russia could be forced to scale down oil production over the next few months, three Russian oil executives told Reuters on Thursday. US sanctions have clamped down on Russia’s access to vessels to transport its crude to Asia, while the country has minimal storage capacity. Ukrainian drone attacks have also been targeting Russian storage facilities and refineries. Output cuts are expected to be eased in, with production falling below 9 mn bpd in the next few months. Yet, they could accelerate if refining outages and tanker shortages continue, the executives said.

The IEA doesn’t seem so sure: “Time and again, oil markets have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of major challenges – and this time is unlikely to be different,” the International Energy Agency said in a report cited by Reuters last week, noting that Russian exports could be sustained if it finds ways to work around the latest US sanctions. The agency had previously forecast that 3 mn bpd of Russian supplies could be blocked out of global markets due to Western sanctions back in 2022, but reversed its predictions after Russia’s supplies remained strong.

#3- Baltic index inches up: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 12 points to 792 on Friday. The capesize inched by 5 points to 716, while the panamax index grew 6 points to 980. The smaller supramax index increased by 24 points to 765.

#4- The Drewry World Container Index decreased 5% to USD 3,095 per 40-ft container on Thursday, according to the latest index readings. Spot rates for 40-ft containers are now 70% below the previous pandemic peak but remain 118% above the pre-pandemic rate of USD 1.4k. The average composite index YTD is USD 3,638 per 40ft container, which is USD 760 higher than the 10-year average rate of USD 2,880.

DATA POINTS-

#1- KSA’s oil revenues accounted for some 56% of total government income in 4Q 2024, at a total of SAR 170.85 bn — declining 31% y-o-y, according to the Finance Ministry’s quarterly budget performance report (pdf). However, oil revenues on a yearly basis has increased marginally to SAR 756.6 bn in 2024, accounting for 61% of total government income.

#2- Iran sets new export target: Iran’s Freezones High Council is targeting USD 2 bn in exports in the next Iranian calendar year, which starts in late March, council secretary Reza Masrour told Tehran Times. Foreign investments in Iran’s freezones reached EUR 125 mn, while special economic zones recorded EUR 131 mn in the past 10 months.

PSA-

Hapag-Lloyd rolls out new levies: Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd will hike ocean tariff rates to USD 800 per container for shipments heading from Pakistan and India to North Europe and the Mediterranean Sea starting on 1 March 2025, according to a statement.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Kenya will host Air Cargo Africa from Wednesday, 19 February to Friday, 21 February in Nairobi. The trade fair, focused on aviation in the logistics sector, offers an inclusive platform to showcase multimodal transport solutions across the continent. The event , slated to gather over 2k visitors from over 50 countries, will host over 60 exhibitors and brands who will exhibit the latest developments in airfreight.

The UAE is holding AD Ports Group Capital Markets Day on Monday, 24 February in Abu Dhabi. The full-day, in-person event will see investors, analysts, corporate and investment bankers and other securities market professionals gather to evaluate AD Port’s financial performance and the group’s strategy going forward. Group and cluster senior management, as well as other guest speakers, will visit flagship assets in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE will host the WCA Worldwide Conference from Tuesday, 25 February to Saturday, 1 March in Dubai. The event — set to bring together over 4.5k freight forwarders from 179 countries — will host several workshops and courses over one week.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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